Experts' corner

Trevenant Revisited

Hey 60 Cards readers! I'm here with a look on Trevenant from The Dallas Regional Championships. In this article I will go over what I believe to be a very underrated deck that I have taken to consecutive Top 8 and Top 4 placements.

Table of contents

Why Trevenant?

The List

Trevenant Matchups and Strategy

My Matchups

Conclusion

Why Trevenant?

After placing in the top 4 at Anaheim Regional Championships with Trevenant I was eager to play the deck again to The Dallas Regional Championships. The deck has favourable Zoroark/Garbodor and Archie's Blastoise matchups and only takes an unfavourable Zoroark/Siesmitoad matchup, which has limited play in seniors.

Energy (9)

4-4-3 Trevenant - Since Phantump is the ideal starting Pokemon in the deck there is a whole 4 copies in the deck, playing four copies of Trevenant is also ideal because it is the main attacker of the deck. The reason for only playing three Trevenant BREAK is that it is constantly recycled with rescue scarf.

1-1 Ditto/Muk - Muk is not always used, but in some situations, it is absolutely crucial. Its main uses include blocking Klefki in the Zorogarb matchup, blocking Keldeo EX's Rush-in ability in the Archie's matchup, Blocking Skaymin EX and Tapu Lele GX, Blocking Zereora GX's Thunderclap Zone in the Rayquaza matchup and blocking those pesky Giritnas from turning off Forest Curse. Blocking all of these abilities can win games in combination with other disruptive cards.

1 Espeon EX - This card's main purpose is to Devolve and knock out Zoroark GX after only two Silent Fear attacks. It can also be used to remove large threats such as Sceptile GX, Gardevoir GX and Solgaleo GX from the board, that would otherwise roll through Trevenants.

Trainers :

4 N/1 Ace Trainer - These cards punish the player who is leading on prize cards, and since Silent Fear spreads damage instead of taking KO's these cards always punish your opponent. Shuffling away your opponent's energy cards and supporters such as Guzma and Lusamine can be crucial from preventing Trevenant from being KO'd.

1 Brigette - This card is usually your ideal turn one supporter and provides stability to your board by setting up multiple Phantump and Ditto. It is important to note that Brigette is the only way to search Ditto and evolve into Alolan Muk.

1 Guzma - This card's main purpose is to prevent Alolan Muk from being stalled out in the active position. It can also be used to stall your opponents pokemon and is reusable with VS seeker

3 Enhanced Hammer/3 Counter Catcher - These cards are used to prevent your opponent from attacking. Enhanced Hammer is mostly used to discard Double Colorless Energy off of Zoroark GX and Vespiqueen, however it also prevents your opponent from playing down their energy in advance in order to avoid having it shuffled away by a card such as N. Counter catcher is a more versatile disruption card that can be used in almost any match (as long as you're behind on prize cards!). It's main uses include stalling a Blastoise, Garbodor or Klefki in the active position to give you a few extra turns of silent fear.

4 Rescue Scarf - Drawing this card in the early turns can be crucial in keeping a Trevenant in your active position. A full 4 copies of this card ensure you get it when you need it.

Trevenant Strategy and Matchups

The basic strategy of the deck is to stall your opponent for enough to turns to wipe out the board with Silent Fear. The reason that Trevenant is such a strong deck is the Forest Curse ability. Blocking item cards is very strong in the expanded format as many decks rely on these cards to function. Cards such as VS seeker, Ultra ball, Trainer's mail and battle compressor which boost consistency now become useless cards which gives you an edge. Using Enhanced Hammer and Counter Catcher your opponent is forced to have an energy card and or way to retreat, without being able to play item cards. Trevenant's Silent Fear attack spreads damage instead of taking turn based KO's, making N the perfect draw engine for the deck.

Archie's Blastoise (Wailord&Magikarp GX build) 65-35 - Favourable

This matchup can be very dependant on each players first turn. As the Blastoise player you MUST get Blastoise into play and MUST attach five water energies on a Wailord&Magikarp GX. Attaching a Float Stone to Blastoise improves your odds and benching fewer Shaymin EX does aswell, however the drawing of an Acerola or Guzma is the best way to win the match. As the Trevenant player it is very important to get a Trevenant out and keep it in the active until the end of the game. Plan A is to Counter Catcher in the Blastoise, use Silent Fear four times, then pull in the Wailord&Magikarp GX and attack it with Tree Slam (KO Blastoise). Finally, once the Wailord&Magikarp GX has 120hp remaining you can finish it off with a Tapu Lele GX's Energy Drive.

Zoroark/Garbodor - 60-40 - Favourable

This matchup seems very bad in theory with the extreme consistency of Zoroark GX. Being able to Trade and draw all their cards and then turn off Forest Curse when they need to with Klefki+Gabotoxin may seem like the perfect Trevenant counter, however, there are plenty of cards in our deck to combat this monster of a deck. Plan A is to play Counter Catcher to bring in a Garbodor or Klefki, Enhanced Hammer to remove a Double Colorless Energy from Zoroark GX and Ace Trainer to limit their card pool all in the same turn. By using all these cards together you force your opponent to draw a way to retreat and energy to attack which is typical unlikely. Once you manage to put 60 damage on all the Zoroark GX in play Espeon EX can come in to devolve and knock out all of them in the same turn, sealing the game.

Zoroark/Seismitoad - 20-80 - Very Unfavoured

The main problem is the matchup is the number of healing cards they have access to. Cards such as Rough Seas, Acerola and Parallel city can remove turns of progress with Silent Fear. Being item locked by Quaking Punch makes Trevenant very clunky, eventually, you will look down at a hand of items with no energy in play and be slowly decked out. Your best shot is to build up as much momentum as possible in the early turns and put the pressure on your opponent to draw healing and energy removal supporters. Playing N repeatedly can counter massive hands via Trade and hopefully you close out the game with 7-10 consecutive Silent Fears.

My Matchups

R1 - Zoroark/Golisopod - WW

this matchup is similar to the Zoroark Garbodor Matchup, except the only way to break item lock is Guzma.

Game one my opponent drew quite poorly and only set up one Zoroark GX, which lead to him not drawing anything useful off of Ace Trainer. After a few turns of Silent Fear my opponent decided to move onto the next game.

Game two my opponent started Alolan Grimer which he couldn't move out of the active. After three Silent Fears the Grimer was KO'd and I used Espeon EX to Knock out all three of my opponent's Zoroark GX, allowing three more Silent Fears to close out the series.

R2 - Drampa/Garbodor/Tina LWT

Game One I am forced to discard 5 item cards on my first turn of the game. I fall behind early to trashalanche, but am able to keep up the item lock and Tree Slam through all of the Garbodors after a lucky Ace Trainer.

Game two I start off very well and am able to take a huge lead, Silent Fearing all over my opponent's board with the only opposition being Energy Drive. However my opponent top decks a Colress and is able to pull off a big turn, getting down Giratina, using Parallel City to discard Damaged pokemon and a big Tapu Cure GX, effectively nullifying four turns of Silent Fear. After a few turns of Trading Attacks, I have a big turn, benching Alolan Muk, using field blower to discard the float stone from Garbodor, using Counter catcher to bring Garbodor into the active and N to limit my opponent to three cards. Sadly my opponent drew a Guzma to bring in my Tapu Lele GX and finish me off with a Berserk and Trashalanche.

Due to the length of game two we draw our opening hands for game three and time is called.

R3 - Zoroark/Oranguru/Delinquent WW

Game one my opponent prized his only copies of Plumeria and Guzma leaving me to Silent Fear Undisrupted for seven turns and win the game.

Game two my opponent changed his strategy completely and tried using Riotous Beating to KO my Trevenant. A Counter Catcher, Enhanced Hammer, Ace Trainer play buys me enough turns to close out the game.

R4 - Zoroark/Exodia WLL

In game one my Opponent whiffed the Exodia and was item locked without a Zorua on the board, I was able to Silent fear four times and wipe his board.

In game two my opponent misses the exodia combo again and goes in with Riotous Beating. After discarding three DCE it look like I am going to win the game but I have a huge misplay because I am rushing I end up playing both Brigette and N in the same turn losing the game. I blew the game because I was not paying enough attention, due to my dominant board position, I urge everybody maintain as much focus as possible on your current match no matter the board position or else you may end up kicking yourself.

Game three I open with a Tapu Lele and a dead hand and lose the game in two turns.

R5 - Archie's Blastoise/Wailord&Magikarp GX WW

Game one I go down 6-1 on prizes making the typical win condition mentioned above in the "Trevenant Strategy and Matchups" section. After 4 silent fears, I am forced to manually attach four energy cards to my Tapu Lele GX in order to KO the Wailord&Magikarp GX for the game.

Game two my opponent only attaches one energy after using Archie's Ace in the Hole, meaning he could never attack for the whole game. Item lock alone is enough to buy turns for 6 Tree Slams to close out the series.

R6 - Zorogarb WW

Game one my opponent starts off well, but is quicky stalled out by Ace Trainer and Counter Catcher, and can not attack for the remainder of the game

Game two my opponent starts off very poorly and I KO all of his Zorua before they can become Zoroark GX. A few Silent Fears later I pick up my remaining prizes to close out the series.

R7 - Archie's Blastoise/Wailord&Magikarp GX WW

Game one my open gets off to a very quick start and starts rolling through my weak board without much resistance. After taking 3 prizes I top deck a Professor Sycamore and use the typical counter catcher play to win the game.

Game two my opponent gets two turns of items, because of my Espeon EX start. He is unable to capitalize on this and can not even set up a Blastoise. I set up a Trevenant and end the series rather quickly.

Top 8 - Zoroark/Seismitoad EX

Game one I started off with strong momentum and build up loads of damage on my opponents multiple Tapu Lele GX, but a turn before I could win the game my opponent discards all of his Tapu Lele GX with Parallel City and then uses Acerola to heal his Zoroark GX. I am then slowly but surely locked out of the game and milled out.

Game two my opponent attaches a Fighting Fury Belt to his Seismitoad and uses Quaking Punch on his first turn. the extra 10 damage the Belt provided put much more pressure on my trevenants and I draw into a hand of all item cards rather quickly. I am then decked out fairly quickly by a string of Team Rocket's Handiwork.

Conclusion

Overall this deck has a near unparalleled strength in the late game which means that no game is ever over until your opponent has taken all six prizes. The deck's only weakness is its inability to counter decks such as Zoroark/Seismitoad and various Tropical Beach mill decks. If you're looking to take out a field of ZoroGarb and Archie's, I hope you try out Trevenant!